A/N: For some reason, poor Tony is a favorite target in many fanfics, mine included. To paraphrase ZivaFan, somewhere out in fanfictionland Tony is cringing every time I get a new idea for a story.
Why break tradition?
Huge thanks go to Rinne for her stellar beta work and encouragement.
Chapter Two
The parking lot was filled with different law enforcement vehicles, lights flashing blue or red, depending on the agency. The air was filled with the cacophony of yelling, radio dispatchers, crying and heated "discussions". A black sedan screeched to a halt and a very angry gray-haired man got out, slammed the door shut and pushed his way past the local LEO's, holding up his badge like a battering ram. The look on his face made the officers think twice about trying to stop him.
Gibbs made a beeline toward a smaller group of people, recognizing the dark, curly hair of Officer David and the long black coat of Special Agent McGee. They were watching as paramedics strapped a patient to a gurney.
"McGee!"
Tim McGee jumped at the sound of his boss' angry voice and turned quickly.
"What happened?"
While Gibbs could still scare the hell out of him, McGee had stopped stammering every time the team leader demanded anything from him.
"Tony wanted to stop to get something to eat, Boss," reported McGee, "and he and Ziva walked in on the middle of a robbery. The cashier went after the robber with a baseball bat, the robber's gun went off…"
Gibbs felt a twinge in his stomach. "Where's Tony?"
McGee pointed silently toward an ambulance.
Gibbs turned to see Tony sitting in the back of the vehicle. One expensive Italian shoe was sitting next to him while a paramedic was bandaging his left foot.
"What the hell happened to you?" demanded Gibbs.
"When the gun went off, I dropped what I was carrying so I could try to jump the robber. The bottles broke and a shard of glass went right through my Forzieri shoe and into my foot. My $450 shoe."
"If your shoes were $450 a pair, then wouldn't that be your $225 shoe?" asked Ziva.
Tony glared at her. "You can't buy just one shoe, Zeeeva."
"What if the person is an amputee? Do they make them…"
"Enough!" yelled Gibbs. He glared at Tony. "You couldn't buy the plastic two-liter bottles like everyone else?"
"Everything tastes better in glass," protested Tony, "and I like those fancy sodas, they only come in smaller bottles, 4 to a pack."
"I like the blueberry ones," McGee piped up.
"You should try the pomegranate," Ziva recommended.
McGee looked at her. "Oh yeah? I've never been sure about that flavor. Pomegranates are hard to eat, so I don't really know what they taste like."
"They're delicious, McGee, really…" Ziva's voice trailed off at the sight of Gibbs' stormy face.
Gibbs abruptly turned on his heel and headed to his car.
"Boss!" yelled Tony, picking up his shoe and hopping after him. "Can I get a ride with you?"
"Get a move on, DiNozzo!"
Two Days Later"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked, causing the younger agent to drop the paperclip chain he had been making and sit up expectantly.
"Yes, Boss?"
Gibbs sighed, the younger agent had a hopeful look on his face, eager to spring into action. Tony's foot was well on its way to healing and he could walk on it now without much trouble. The trouble was, there was no action.
"Why don't you go down to the lab and see if Abby found anything on that old Walker case." Gibbs' voice wasn't as stern as he wanted it to be, he sounded more exasperated. He couldn't fault the young man for wanting to do something, he was going crazy himself. Director Sheppard had taken the opportunity of the down time to make sure that Gibbs caught up on his paperwork, so he was up to his eyeballs in SF 113 A's, due monthly but ignored up until now, and an OPM 1523 that was due last year. Worse, she kept trying to get him to go to dinner, or invite her to "see his boat".
"Sure, Boss," Tony replied cheerfully. "I'll get a Caf-Pow on the way down."
"You do that," grumbled Gibbs. 'Tony is too damn perky,' he thought to himself, turning back to the hated forms.
Down in the labMusic assaulted Tony's ears before he even approached the sliding doors into Abby's lab. He sauntered into the room, limping slightly, and stopped to watch Abby's head bob in time to the booming bass, her pigtails waving wildly, almost in circular motions. Idly, he wondered if she could make tassels twirl while she… Shaking his head to rid himself of that thought, he snuck up behind Abby and plopped the large drink beside her on the table.
One doesn't sneak up on Abby, however, so he wasn't surprised when she didn't even flinch, just picked up the drink and took a long draught through the straw. Turning around, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks, Tony," she yelled, making herself heard above the music.
"You're welcome!" Tony yelled back. "Gibbs wants to know if you have anything new on the Walker case."
"What?"
"GIBBS WANTS TO KNOW… ahhh, the hell with this." Tony walked over and turned off her CD player.
"Hey!" pouted Abby. "I was listening to that."
"Abby, my ears are ringing, how can you listen to that so loud?"
"What?"
"I SAID… wait, you still can't hear me?" Seeing Tony's worried look Abby reached up and took out her earplugs.
Looking slightly abashed, she said, "Oh, sorry, forgot I had these on."
Shaking his head, Tony repeated himself for the third time, "Gibbs wants to know if you have anything new on the Walker case."
"I do indeed," smiled the perky young woman. "Put on those gloves and come with me, cutie pie."
"Cutie pie?" Bemused, Tony followed Abby to her inner office.
"Yeah, cutie pie. You like to think of yourself as dashing and debonair, but you're really a big sweetie."
"You don't think I'm dashing?" Tony's tone was hurt.
"I think you're a drop-dead gorgeous man, with a little boy spirit, and that makes you a cutie pie to me." Abby gave him a quick kiss on the nose.
"Oh. Okay, I'll take that as a compliment."
"As you should."
"So Abs, what do you have?"
Picking up a box, Abby handed it to Tony. "I found this hidden in a secret compartment in a hope chest we found in Walker's apartment."
"Isn't a hope chest for women?" asked Tony.
"Well, yeah, but maybe he just used it to store blankets or something. Anyway, this was in a secret compartment."
Looking at all sides of the box, Tony asked, "What is it?" as he started to open it.
"I don't know," she replied. "I just found it, I haven't had a chance to check it out."
Turning very still, Tony looked over at the lab technician, his voice hushed. "You haven't checked it for booby traps?"
"No," she said warily. "But I didn't think you'd just start opening it."
He hissed, "I didn't think you'd hand me something that hadn't been cleared."
"Sorry, Tony…"
"Shhhh…." Tony tried to peek into the box through the half-inch opening he'd made.
"Get out of here, Abs." His voice was urgent.
"What?"
"I said, get out. NOW, Abby." The look on his face matched the serious tone of his voice. Abby turned and started to run out of the lab. She had just gotten past the outer doors when there was an explosion, throwing her against the elevator doors.
TBC